Door control mechanism



March 27, 1962 A. R. DE vlTo 3,

DOOR CONTROL MECHANISM Filed Dec. 5, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 I; I I HIM! mill ,9 W 2/ f 9 IN VEN TOR.

ANGELO R 0'5 V/m Afro/ems ys March 27, 1962 A. R. DE VITO DOOR CONTROL MECHANISM 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 3, 1959 NE w h m NTOR.,

l lro 1N A/veao March 27, 1962 A. R. DE VITO 3,027,184

DOOR CONTROL MECHANISM Filed Dec. 5, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 I I I l l I E I l 1 i i l' I I 34 i 29 3 1 .v-7 35 1:? 1% A? a I L 46 y fio i W i I 32 k IN V EN TOR. Aneao /P. d: V/r0 Arrow/5x9 March 27, 1962 A. R. DE VITO 3,027,184

DOOR CONTROL MECHANISM Filed Dec. 5, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 l-jjjw M I E 55 I r 36 u $15153 I V i 55; I x5 25 {I} W INVENTOR. /'76 4 Auaao E de V/ro ATTORNEYS March 27, 1962 A. R. DE VITO 3,027,184

DOOR CONTROL MECHANISM Filed Dec. 3, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 5' "4 5 I I 7 INVgIiNTyOR.

if M 7 Arvaao R. 6' /T0 fiG- 7 1 BY I I; flTTOR/VEYS March 27, 1962 DE v o 3,027,184

DOOR CONTROL MECHANISM Filed Dec. 3, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR. Alma-0 A. dew 0 Arromvsys United States Patent Gfifice 3,027,184 Patented Mar. 27, 1962 3,027,184 DOOR CONTROL MECHANISM Angelo R. de Vito, Rockford, 11]., assignor to Lisle W. Menzimer, trustee, Rockford, Ill. Filed Dec. 3, 1959, Ser. No. 857,076 20 Qlaims. (Cl. 292-216) This invention relates to door control mechanism of the co-operating keeper and pivoted latch type and provides a novel construction of a very practical form for door control mechanism of this kind and by reason of which the mechanism is especially suitable for vehicle door use.

More particularly, the invention relates to door control mechanism intended for vehicle doors and having detent means for releasably retaining the latch member in its door-latched position and also having manually operable actuating means in the form of either an outside actuating means or an inside actuating means, or both, for the release actuation of the detent means and wherein the manual actuating means has an idle or free-wheeling movement when the mechanism is in a door-locked condition.

An object of this invention is to provide novel door control mechanism of the kind referred to above and having manually operable locking means and a control means actuatable by locking means to effective and ineffective positions for controlling the release actuation of the detent means by the manual actuating means for the latter.

Another object is to provide novel door control mechanism of the character mentioned above wherein portions of the detent means and detent release means comprise a swingable control arm means and the locking means comprises a shiftable locking member, and wherein the control means is connected with such locking memher and comprises finger means shiftabl-e to effective and ineffective positions by movement transversely of the control arm means.

A further object is to provide novel door control mechanism having the structural characteristics and the freewheeling operating characteristic referred to above, and which can be economically produced and installed and wherein the locking member cooperates with the con trol arm means to prevent any unintentional release actuation of the detent means when the detent release means is in its free-wheeling condition corresponding with the door-locked condition of the mechanism.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent in the following detailed description and in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and in which FIG. 1 is a partial side elevation of a vehicle body showing the control mechanism of this invention applied to one of the doors thereof;

FIG. 2 is a partial elevational view of the upright edge wall of the door having the latch device of the control mechanism mounted thereon;

FIG. 3 is a partial transverse vertical section taken approximately as indicated by section line 3-3 of FIG. 1 and showing the keeper and the upright edge wall portion of the doorframe mainly in elevation;

FIG. 4 is a vertical axial section taken through the control mechanism as indicated by section line 44 of FIGS. 2, 3 and 5 and showing the relationship of the parts when the door is in a latched and locked condition;

FIG. 5 is fragentary transverse vertical section of the latch device taken on section 5-5 of FIGS. 4 and 7 with the parts again shown in the door-latched and doorlocked position;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary section like that of FIG. 5

but showing the relationship of the parts for the doorunlocked and door-unlatched condition of the mechanism;

FIG. 7 is a vertical axial section taken on section line 77 of FIGS. 6 and 8;

FIG. 8 is a sectional plan view taken through the latch device at the location indicated by section line 3-8 of FIGS. 5 and 7 and showing the parts in the door-unlocked position;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are fragmentary elevational views on a larger scale and of a diagrammatic form and illustrating the action of the over-center spring of the locking lever;

FIGS. 11 to 14 inclusive are of a modified form of door control mechanism, FIG. 11 being a fragmentary transverse vertical section similar to FIG. 5 but taken on section line 1111 of FIG. 13 and showing the latch device in a door-latched and door-locked condition;

FIG. 12 is a fragmentry transverse vertical section like that of FIG. 11 but showing the latch device in a safetylatched condition;

FIG. 13 is a vertical section taken on section line 13-13 of FIGS. 11 and 14; and

FIG. 14 is a sectional plan view taken on section line 14-14 of FIGS. 11 and 13 and showing the parts in the door-locked position.

In the accompanying drawings the door control mechanism 10 is shown applied to co-operating door and doorframe members 11 and 12 of a vehicle body 13 and comprises a keeper 14 mounted on the doorframe and a latch device 15 co-operating therewith and mounted on the door.

The door 11 can be of any conventional form and is here shown as being a swingable door connected with the vehicle body 13 as by the usual vertical-axis hinge means and having outer and inner side walls 17 and 18 and a chamber or space 19 between such walls. The door 11 has a free edge portion 20 provided with an upright edge wall 21 which is presented toward the pillar portion 22 of the doorframe 13 when the door is in its closed position.

The doorframe 12 is here represented by the upright pillar portion 22 which has an edge wall 23 lying in an opposite relation to the edge wall 21 of the door when the door is in its closed position so that the opposed up right edge walls cooperate to form a cleavage crevice 24 and lie on opposite sides of an upright cleavage plane extending transversely of the vehicle. The edge wall 23 is provided with a rearwardly offset recess or indentation 25 to accommodate the keeper 14.

The latch device 15 will be described in detail hereinafter but, at this point, it is explained that the latch device is mounted on the edge wall 21 of the door 11 andincludes a pivot shaft 27 projecting through an opening 28 of such wall and a latch member 29 pivotally supported by such shaft. The latch device 15 also includes a roller 30 pivotally supported by the shaft 27 and mounted thereon immediately adjacent the latch member 29 and in which position the roller is retained by a projecting bracket arm 31 having the outer end of the shaft 27 supported thereon. The latch member 29 is here shown as having a body portion formed integral with the shaft 27 and as also having a plurality of teeth 32 formed on such body portion, in this case two such teeth 32 and 32 The keeper 14 can be of any appropriate shape and construction for co-operation with the latch member 29 and the roller 30 and is here shown as being in the form of a hollow body 34 having a recess 35 in the rear side thereof and presented toward the edge wall 23 of the doorframe 12 to which the keeper is secured by suit able attaching screws 36. The keeper body 34 is provided with a front wall 37 having a notch 38 therein to accommodate the shaft 27 when the door is moved to its closed position. The keeper body 34 is also provided with upper and lower lug projections 4% and 41 through which the attaching screws 36 extend.

The keeper body 34 also has a peripheral side or edge wall 39 connected with the front wall 37 and extending rearwardly therefrom. The wall 39 extends around the keeper body for the major portion of the perimeter thereof but is interrupted by an access opening 43 located on the side of the keeper facing outwardly of the vehicle and which access opening leads into, and communicates with, the keeper recess 35 as well as with the notch 33.

The keeper recess 35 is of a size and shape to freely receive the roller 30 when the door is moved to its closed position and the notch 38 is of a size and shape to receive the latch member 29. The portion of the front wall 37 which is located below the notch 38 is provided with a locking pocket or tooth recess 44 which communicates with the notch and is of a size and shape to mate with and receive one of the teeth 32 of the latch member. The pocket 44 is centered on a substantially vertical center line 45 which extends through the pivot axis 4-6 of the shaft 27 when the door is closed and the latch member 29 is in a door-latched position in the keeper 14 in which position the latch member is shown in full lines in FIG. 3 with the tooth 32 as the pocket-engaged tooth.

The portion of the keeper wall 37 lying on the outwardly facing side of the keeper at a point below the notch 38 forms a striker means 48 against which the next adjacent tooth 32 of the latch member engages as the door approaches its closed position. This engagement causes the tooth 32 to be swung into the pocket 44 as the door 11 moves to its fully closed and door-latched position shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The roller 30 is of a diameter substantially greater than the transverse dimension of the notch 38 so that, when the door 11 is in its door-latched position, portions of the roller will lie behind the front wall 37 and will be engageable with the latter at points located on opposite sides of the notch to thereby prevent spreading apart of the door and doorfrarne in the fore-and-aft direction in the event that the vehicle is involved in a collision. When the door is in its door-latched position the lower portion of the roller 30 is spaced from the edge wall 39 of the keeper body, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, so that the tooth 32 of the latch member 29 will seat in the pocket 44 to support the door in an antirattle relation to the doorframe 12. i

The portion of the edge wall 39 of the keeper body lying at the lower edge of the access opening 43 provides a lower guide means 50 which is engageable by the roller 30 to facilitate the movement of the latch member 29 into the keeper 14 to its door-latched position therein. A portion of the edge wall 39 of the keeper which is located on the upper side of the access opening 43 forms a similar upper guide means 51 which will be engageable by the roller 30 in the event that the keeper and latch member are in a relatively misaligned relation.

In FIG. 3 of the drawings the phantom-line showings of the roller 30 represent misaligned positions 30 and 30 thereof. These phantom-line positions 30 and 30 are somewhat exaggerated misalignment positions for the roller which would cause the same to engage the lower and upper guide elements and 51, respectively, and thereby produce a corrective shifting of the door which would enable the latch member and roller to readily enter the keeper 14. The roller 30 will, of course, also co-operate under similar circumstances with one or the other of the guide elements 50 and 51 to facilitate movement of the latch member 29 out of the keeper recess 35 during opening movement of the door. The phantomline position 30 represents the normal approach position of the roller 30 and the normal approach position 29 of the latch member, relative to the keeper 14.

The keeper body 34 is also provided with a pocket 52 which is located above the notch 33 and the recess 35 and communicates with the latter. A. wedge member 53 is located in the pocket 52 and is engageable by the upper peripheral portion or segment of the roller 36 for producing a door-holding or door-supporting co-operation therebetween and for also urging the engaged tooth 32 of the latch member downwardly in the pocket 44 into seating engagement with the wall of the latter.

The wedge member 53 is swingably supported in the pocket 52 by a pivot pin 54 mounted on the front wall 37 and extending rearwardly therefrom. A wire spring 55 also mounted on the pivot pin 54 is effective against the Wedge member 53 for swinging the same in a direction to press the thrust portion 53 thereof against the periphery of the roller 30.

The latch device 15 comprises a support or base 57 having plate and flange portions 58 and 59 disposed in a substantially right-angular relation to each other. The plate portion 58 is adapted to be attached to the edge wall 2 1 of the door 11 as by means of suitable screws 60 for mounting the latch device 15 on the door. The plate portion 58 is provided with a sleeved opening having a bushing 61 mounted therein for pivotally supporting the shaft 27.

The latch device 15 also comprises a ratchet 63 fixed on the pivot shaft 27 and having teeth 63*, 63 and 63 with which a detent means 64 co-operates for holding the latch member 29 in the different positions to which it is movable. The detent means 64 comprises a detent lever 65 and an actuator lever or detent release lever 66. The levers 65 and 66 are swingably supported by a common pivot pin 67 mounted in the plate portion 53 of the support 57.

The detent lever 65 is in the form of a bell crank lever comprising a detent arm 68 and a control arm 69, the detent arm having, on the free end thereof, a hook-shaped holding portion 68 which is co-operable with the teeth of the ratchet member 63. The tooth 63 is engageable by the holding portion 68 when the latch member 29 is in its door-latched position and such engagement of this tooth by the holding portion will retain the latch member in the door-latched position.

When the tooth 63 of the ratchet member 63 is in engagement with the holding portion 68 the latch ment ber 29 will be retained in its safety-latched position in which the tooth 32 of the latch member extends only part-way into the locking pocket 44. This safety-latched position of the latch member is the phantom-line position 29 thereof shown in FIG. 3. When the tooth 63 of the ratchet member 63 is in engagement with the holding portion 68*, as shown in FIG. 6 of the drawings, the latch member 29 will be in its door-unlatched position. I

The detent release lever 66 is also in the form of a bell crank lever having an actuator arm 71 and a control arm 72. The actuator arm 71 has a contact portion or flange '71 which is engageable by the stem 73 of a push button 7-4 provided on the door 11 and forming an outside control means for the door control mechanism 16. For a purpose to be explained hereinafter, the control arm 72 hes adjacent the control arm 69 of the detent lever 65 and extends in a substantially parallel relation thereto. The flange 71 of the detent release lever 66 is of a length so that the lower end thereof extends below the axis of the pivot pin 67 to form a thrust portion 75 which overlaps and is engageable with the adjacent edge of the detent arm 68.

As an important part thereof the latch device 15 also comprises a control member 78 for establishing an operative and releasable connection between the detent release lever 66 and the detent lever 65 so that the latter lever will be actuatable to release the ratchet member 63 in response to swinging of the release lever byt-he push button 74. The control member 78 is here shown as. being in the form of a T-shaped member or key having a stem portion 78* and a transverse bar portion 73 rigidly connected with such stem portion. The ends of the bar portion 73 form oppositely extending fingers 79 and 8'.

The latch device also comprises a locking member in the form of a lever 81 lying adjacent the flange portion 59 of the support 57 and swingably supported by a pivot pin 82 mounted in such flange portion. The form of the locking lever 81 and the manner of its cooperation with the detent means 64 will be described in detail hereinafter. The control member 78 is connected between the detent means 64 and the locking lever 81 and, for this purpose, the detent lever 65 is provided with a support bracket 84 and the locking lever is provided with an actuating bracket 85.

The support bracket 84 is an L-shaped member having one end thereof attached to the control arm 69 as by a riveted connection 86 and whose other end forms a support arm 84* which is provided with an opening 87 and whose free end extends into a slot 88 of the flange portion 59. When the support bracket 84 is of this L-shaped form and is attached to the control arm 69 in the relationship just described, it will be seen that the support arm 84 will extend in a parallel relation to the free end portion of the control arm 69 and will be spaced therefrom so that the opening 87 will be in a substantially opposed and laterally aligned relation to a similar opening 89 provided in this control arm.

The control member 78 is positioned relative to the detent means 64 so that the stem portion 78 lies between the support arm 84* and the control arm 69, as shown in FIG. 7, and the oppositely extending fingers 79 and 80 project through the openings 87 and 89 respectively. The control member 78 is assembled in this relation to the control arm 69 and the support arm 84 prior to the forming of the riveted connection 86. When the control member is disposed in this relation, the stem 78 thereof extends in a depending relation and projects toward the pivot pin 82 on which the locking lever 81 is swingably mounted.

The stem portion 7 8 of the control lever 78 is loosely and slidably received in an opening 91 of the actuating bracket 85. This actuating bracket can, if desired, be a lug projection formed on the locking lever 81 but is here shown as being a separate part lying alongside the locking lever and held thereagainst by the head 82 of the pivot pin 82. The actuating bracket 85 is also con nected with the locking lever 81 so as to be swingable therewith as by means of a lug portion 92 projecting into an opening of the locking lever.

The aligned openings 87 and 89 of the detent means 64 are of a size in relation to the fingers 80 and 79 of the control member 78 so that these fingers will be slidable in an endwise direction in these openings upon shifting of the control member transversely of the detent means by the swinging of the locking lever 81. The finger 79 is of a length so that when the locking lever 81 is swung to its unlocking position in which it is illustrated in full lines in FIG. 7, this finger will extend into the path of the swinging movement of the control arm 72 of the detent release lever 66 as shown in FIG. 8. The plate portion 58 is provided with a clearance opening 98 into which the free end of the finger 79 can project when it is in its extended or effective position.

When the locking lever 81 is in its locking position 81*, the finger 79 is in a relatively retracted position which permits an idle swinging of the control arm 72 Without coming into engagement with this finger. However, when the finger 79 is in the extended position mentioned just above and shown in FIG. 8, it will be engageable by the control arm 72 so that downward swinging imparted to this control arm by the action of the push button 74 will cause a corresponding downward swinging of the control arm 69 by which the holding portion 68 of the detent lever 65 will be disengaged from the ratchet member 63.

It will therefore be seen that whenever the locking lever 81 is in its locking position 81 the finger 79 of the control member 78 will be in its retracted or ineifective (5 position and the detent release lever 66 will then have an idle or free-wheeling movement on the pivot pin 67 and the detent lever 65 will remain in the position with the holding portion 68 in engagement with the tooth 63 of the ratchet member 63 for retaining the latch member 29 in a door-latched and door-locked position. However, when the locking lever 81 is in its unlocking position, the finger '79 will be in its extended or effective position in which it will be engageable by the control arm 72 whereupon swinging movement imparted to the detent release lever 66 by the push button 74 will cause a simultaneous swinging of the detent lever 65 in a direction to cause the holding portion 68 thereof to release the ratchet tooth 63 to permit the latch member 29 to move from its door-latched position to its door-unlatched position.

The locking lever 81 is provided at the upper end thereof with cam and shoulder portions 93 and 94 lying above and below a notch 95 formed in the edge of this lever. The notch 95 is of a size and shape to receive the support arm 84 of the detent lever 65 when the locking lever is swung to its locking position 81 When the locking lever is in such locking position, the shoulder portion 94 will be located immediately below the support arm 84 so as to be engageable by the latter as a blocking means for preventing the downward swinging of the control arm 69 which is necessary for disengagement of the holding portion 68 of the detent lever 65 from the tooth 63 of the ratchet member 63.

Thus, when the locking lever 81 is in its locking position and the finger 79 of the control member 78 has been retracted so that the swinging of the detent releas lever 66 by the push button 74 will be only an idle or freewheeling movement, the blocking shouider 94 will, at this time, be engageable by the support arm 84 to positively retain the control arm 69 against. any downward ratchet-releasing swinging movement. This blocking action by the shoulder portion 94 of the locking lever thus prevents any unintentional or accidental ratchet-releasing actuation of the detent lever 65 by the idle or free-wheeling movement of the detent release lever 66 as the result of the presence of dirt, rust, ice or other such foreign matter, between the levers 65 and 66 of the detent means.

The outside control means provided on the door 11 comprises, in addition to the push button 74-, a keyactuatable conventional cylinder lock 97 having the usual noncircular spindle 98 extending therefrom and engaged in a noncircular opening of a locking finger 99 pivotally mounted on the flange portion 59 of the support 57. The locking finger 99 has the firee end thereof received in a C-shaped opening 180' of the locking lever 81 for cooperative thrust engagement with cam portions 191 and 102 provided on the locking lever on opposite sides of the C-shaped opening 100. The G-shaped opening 100 and the associated cam portions ltll and 102 are formed on the locking lever 81 so as to lie below the pivot pin 82, whereby swinging of the locking finger 99 into thrust en gagement with the cam portion 106' will move the locking lever to its locking position and thrust engagement of the locking finger with the cam portion 182 will swing the locking lever to its unlocking position.

The latch device 15 is also provided with inside control means comprising an unlocking lever 164 swingably mounted on a pivot pin projection of the flange portion 59 and a push pull link 186 having a knob or the like 107 located adjacent the garnish molding 108 of the vehicle door 11. The unlocking lever 194 is connected with an inside control handle of the vehicle door 11, as by a link 109, and is swingable by the latter in a clockwise direction on the pivot pin 105 to cooperate with the cam portion 93 of the locking lever 81 for swinging the latter to its unlocking position. The garnish molding knob 167 is connected with the locking lever by the pushpull link 106 to enable the locking lever to be swung to and from its locking position by manual actuation of the knob.

As another of the features of this invention, a single spring means 111 is provided to serve the detent means 64 and the latch member 29. This spring means is here shown as being a tension spring having the end 1*1 thereof attached to the thrust portion '75 of the detent release lever 66 and having its opposite end 111 attached to an anchor member 112 which is fixed on the shaft 2-7 and swingable thereby. When the spring 111 is thus connected between the thrust portion '75 and the anchor member 112, it will continuously apply a clockwise rotative force to the latch member 29 and to the levers 035 and 66 of the detent means 64.

This action of the spring 111 on the lever 66 will impart a return swinging movement thereto and, throughthe thrust action of the thrust portion 75 against the detent arm 68, will also urge the latter toward engagement with the teeth of the ratchet member 63. The pulling force of the spring 111 on the anchor member 112 will likewise tend to cause clockwise rotation of the shaft 27 for producing a throw-out action of the latch member 29' against the keeper 14- when the ratchet member 63 is released by the holding portion 68 The movement of the locking lever 81 to its locking and unlocking positions is produced, in part, by an over center or snap-action type of spring 114 (see FIGS. 9 and 10) which is connected between this lever and the flange portion 59. The spring 114 is here shown as being a wire spring of a flat circular form having anchor portions 115 and 116 formed by the ends of the spring wire and which anchor portions extend in opposite directions axially of the spring.

The anchor portion 115 is engaged in a hole 1117 provided in the locking lever d1 and the anchor portion 116 is engaged in one end portion of a C-shaped opening 113 provided in the flange portion 59. The ends of the C- shaped opening 118 provide two different anchor locations 119 and 120 on the flange portion 59 for the anchor portion 116 of the spring 114 and the action of this spring on the locking lever 81 will depend upon which of the anchor locations 119 and 1211 the anchor portion 116 is disposed in.

The C-shaped opening 118 is located in the flange portion 59 so that it is centered on a radial line extending through the pivot axis 121 provided by the pin 82. and the anchor locations 119 and 120 lie on opposite sides of this center line. The anchor portion 115 of the spring 114 lies on a radial line which extends through the pivot axis 121 and occupies the location 122 when the locking lever 31 is in its unlocking position as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. The anchor portion 116 of the spring lies on a radial line 123 when it is engaged in the anchor portion 119 of the C-shaped opening and lies on a radial line 124 when it is engaged in the anchor portion 120 of the C-shaped opening.

FIGS. 9 and 10 of the drawings show the locations described above for the C-shaped opening 118 and the anchor portions 115 and 116, and also illustrate somewhat diagrammatically the action of the spring 114 in urging the locking lever 81 toward its locking and unlocking positions. In FIG. 9 the anchor portion 116 of the spring 114 is engaged in the anchor location 119 of the C-shaped opening and in FIG. 10 the anchor portion 116 is shown as having been manually shifted to the anchor location 120.

When the locking lever 81 is in its unlocking position in which it is shown in full lines in FIGS. 7, 9 and 10, the shoulder 94 thereof will lie opposite the support arm 84 when the latter is being held in its lowered position of FIG. 6 by reason of the holding portion 63 of the detent lever 65 being then in engagement with the relatively high cam portion 63 adjacent the tooth 63 of the ratchet member 63. The latch device is, at this time, in its door-unlatched condition which is the case when the door 11 is in its open position.

It is desirable that locking of the latch device 15, either by manipulation of the key-actuated lock 97 or by means of the garnish molding knob 107 of the inside control means, be prevented whenever the door is in its open position. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the support arm 84 lies opposite the shoulder 94 when the latch device 15 is in its door-unlocked and door-unlatched condition and will then be engageable by this shoulder as the result of any attempt to lock the latching device, while it is in such unlocked and unlatched condition, and will prevent the locking lever from swinging fully to its locking position.

When such an attempt is made to lock the latch device 15 while the mechanism is in its door-unlatched condi tion, the swinging movement of the locking lever 81 will come to a stop with the shoulder 94 pressing against the support arm 84*. If the latch device 15 is allowed to remain in this condition there is a possibility that, upon slamming of the door to its closed position and the re sulting lifting of the support arm 34 by the action of the spring 111, the locking lever 31 may continue its movement toward its locking position and assume a full locking position with the support arm 84 engaged in the notch 95. Such a continued movement of the locking lever 81 to its full locking position under the circumstances explained just above would result in the vehicle operator unintentionally locking himself out of the vehicle.

When the anchor portion 116 of the spring 114 is located in the anchor position 119 as shown in HQ. 9 of the drawings, the action of this spring will be to always tend to swing the locking lever 81 toward its unlocking position rather than toward its locking position upon the occurrence of the above-described upward movement of the support arm 84 at a time when the shoulder 94 is pressing against the latter. That the spring 114 will always tend to thus swing the locking lever 81 toward its unlocking position under these circumstances and as the result of the anchor portion 116 being engaged in the anchor location 119, is apparent from PEG. 9 of the drawings from which it will be seen that when the shoulder 94 is in pressing engagement with the support arm 84 the anchor portion 115 will have been shifted only to the position 115 represented by the line 127: which still lies on the left side of the radial line 123 of the anchor location 119. Therefore, upon movement of the arm 34 out of its blocking position in front of the shoulder 94, the expansive action of the spring 114 tending to spread the anchor portions 115 and 116 apart will, under these circumstances, result in an actuating force being applied to the locking lever 81 whose direction is such that it will cause a clockwise swinging of the locking lever, whereby this lever will be automatically returned to its full-line unlocking position shown in FIG. 9.

On the other hand when the anchor portion 116 of the spring 114 has been shifted to the anchor location as shown in FIG. 10, and the locking lever 81 is in the position with its shoulder 84 pressing against the support. arm 84 the corresponding position 115 of the anchor portion 115 as represented by the line 122 will then lie on the right side of the radial line 124. The expansive action of the spring tending to spread the anchor portions 115 and 116 apart will now result in an actuating force being applied to the locking lever 81 whose direction is such as to cause a counterclockwise swinging of the locking lever. Therefore when the anchor portion 116 of the spring 114 has been shifted to the anchor location 12% as shown in FIG. 10, the action of this spring will always be to produce counterclockwise swinging of the locking lever upon lifting of the support arm 84 while the shoulder 94 is pressed against the latter, and consequently, the latch mechanism 15 will operate as a s lf-locking mechanism when tie door 11 is swung to its closed position under these circumstances.

By the provision of the C-shaped opening 118 in the flange portion 59 it will therefore be possible to convert the latch device 15 from a self-locking mechanism to a non-self-locking mechanism :md vice versa, merely by the shifting of the anchor portion 116 from one to the other of the anchor locations 119 and 129.

FIGS. 11 to 14 inclusive show a door latch device 125 which is similar to the latch device 15 and intended for use with a keeper 14 but in which certain structural and functional differences occur. In the modified latch device 125 a latch member 126 is used having the form of a gear member provided with peripheral teeth, in this case five such teeth. The ratchet member 127 of the latch device 125 is in the form of a ratchet wheel having peripheral teeth comprising main ratchet teeth 123 and intervening auxiliary teeth 12), in this case five teeth each for such main and auxiliary ratchet teeth. The ratchet wheel 127 is also provided with full-depth notches or toothe recesses 130 adjacent the main ratchet teeth 127 and shallow-depth notches or tooth recesses 131 adjacent the auxiliary ratchet teeth 129. To the extent that portions or elements of the latch device 125 are the same as in the latch device 15, the same reference numerals have been applied thereto.

Another important difference in the modified latch de vice 125 is that, in the detent means 133 thereof comprising a detent lever 134 and a detent release lever 135, the detent lever 134 lies adjacent the plate portion -8 of the support 57 and the control member 78 is connected between the locking lever 136 and the detent release lever 135. The support arm 84 with which the locking lever 136 co-operates is, in the modified latch device 125, carried by the detent release lever 135 instead of by the detent lever as is the case in the latch device 15.

The detent lever 134 and the detent release lever 135 are both in the form of bell crank levers swingably supported by a common pivot pin 67. The detent lever 134 comprises a detent arm 13 5 having a holding portion 138 engageable with the ratchet wheel 127 and a control arm 139 having, at the free end thereof, a thrust portion in the form of a finger 140 whose purpose will be described hereinafter. The detent release lever 135 comprises an arm 141 having a contact portion or flange 141 engageable by the push button stem 73 and a control arm 142 lying adjacent the control arm 139 and disposed in a spaced and substantially parallel relation to the latter. The support arm 84 and the control arm 142 are provided with substantially aligned openings 143, 144 in which the fingers 8t and 79 of the control member 73 are shiftably received.

The locking lever 136 is similar to the above-described locking lever 81 and includes an actuating bracket 35 in whose opening 91 the stem portion 78 of the control member 78 is slidably received. The locking lever 136 differs, however, from the locking lever 81 in that the shoulder 94 has been omitted therefrom and in that it is provided with a thrust shoulder 145 which does not occur in the locking lever 81.

A Wire spring 147 having a coil-ed portion disposed in surrounding relation to the pivot pin 67 applies a clockwise swinging force to the detent release lever 135 tending to swing this lever toward its retracted position. A tension spring 143 is connected between an anchor lug 149 of the plate portion 58 and the free end of the detent arm 138 and applies a clockwise rotative force to the detent lever 134 tending to swing the same in a direction to engage the holding portion 13$ in one of the tooth recesses of the ratchet member 123.

FIG. 11 of the drawings shows the latch member 126 in its door-latched position at which time the tooth 126 thereof is fully engaged in the locking pocket 44 of the keeper 1d and lies substantially on the vertical center line which passes through the pivot axis of the latch member when the latter is in its door-locked position. At this time, the'latch member 126 is retained in such it) door-latched position by the engagement of the holding portion 1353 of the detent lever 134 in one of the fulldepth tooth recesses 13% of the ratchet member 127.

FIG. 12 of the drawings shows the latch member 126 in its safety-latched position at which time the tooth of the latch member is in a partially-engaged position in the locking pocket 44. At this time, the holding portion 133a of the detent lever 134 is engaged in one of the shallow depth tooth recesses 131 of the ratchet member 127.

From the construction described above for the moditied latch device 125 it will be seen that when the locking lever 136 is in its locking position in which it is shown in full lines in FIG. 13, the control member 73 will occupy a position in which the finger 79 thereof is in its retracted or ineffective location. At this time the detent release lever will be swingable in an idle or freewheeling condition because the finger 79 will not become engaged with the control arm 139. Under these circumstances the detent lever 134 will not be swingable by the detent release lever 135, and consequently, will remain in holding engagement with the ratchet member 127 and the latch device 125 will then be in its locked condition.

When the locking lever 136 i swung to its unlocking position 136 in which it is shown in phantom lines in FIG. 13, the control member 78 will be shifted by the locking lever to project the finger 79 so that the latter will extend transversely of the control arm 139 and will engage the latter when the detent release lever 135 is actuated by the push button stem 73. The actuation of the control arm 139 by the finger 79 will cause the holding portion 13$ of the detent arm 1381 to release the ratchet member 127 to permit door-unlatching movement of the latch member 125.

The thrust finger 146 which, as mentioned above, is formed by the free end of the control arm 139, is engageable with the thrust shoulder 1 55 of the locking lever 136 for producing automatic swinging of the latter to its unlocking position whenever the vehicle door 11 is swung to its closed position while the locking lever happens to be in its locking position. This cooperation of the thrust finger with the thrust shoulder thus produces an automatic unlocking of the latch device 125 which will prevent the operator from locking himself out of the vehicle by a closing of the door while the latch device happens to be in its locked condition.

The engagement of the thrust finger 140 with the shoulder 145 to produce this automatic unlocking action is by a counterclockwise swinging of the detent lever 134 produced by a forced rotation of the ratchet member 127 as the result of the co-operation of the latch member 126 with the keeper 14. Thus, if the latch device 125 is actuated to a locked condition while the door 11 is standing open, a subsequent movement of the door to its fullyclosed position will result in a forced counterclockwise rotation of the ratchet member 127 and a camming action thereof against the holding portion 138 The resulting counterclockwise swinging of the detent lever 134 will cause the thrust finger 140 to apply the above-mentioned kick-out action against the thrust shoulder 145 and thereby automatically swing the locking lever to its unlocking position 136*.

From the accompanying drawings and the foregoing detailed description it will now be readily understood that this invention provides novel door control mechanism of a simple and practical form and in which a detent release lever will have an effective action, or a free-wheeling idle action, relative to an associated detent lever depending upon whether a control member shiftable by the locking member of the mechanism is in an effective or ineffective position. Since the various other novel features and the new and improved results produced by the door control mechanism of this invention have already 1.]; been explained hereinabove, they need not be further summarized at this point.

Although the door control mechanism of this invention has been illustrated and described herein to a somewhat detailed extent, it will be understood, of course, that the invention is not to be regarded as being limited correspondingly in scope but includes all changes and modifications coming within the terms of the claims hereof.

Having described my invention, 1 claim:

1. In door control mechanism; a support adapted for mounting on the door; latch means pivoted on said support and movable to and from a door-latched position; detent means pivoted on said support to cooperate with said latch means for releasably retaining the latter in said door-latched position and including a swingable first arm means; a detent release member pivoted on said support and including a. swingable second arm means adjacent said first arm means; a locking member shiftably mounted on said support for movement to locking and releasing positions; and control means comprising stem means connected with said locking member and finger means rigid with said stem means; said finger means being continuously in co-operating relation to one of said arm means and extending transversely of said one arm means; said control means being shiftable by said locking member for positioning said finger means in eifective and ineffective control positions by movement of said finger means relative to said one arm means and substantially in the transverse direction in which said finger means extends said detent release member having an idle swinging movement relative to said detent means and clear of the finger means when said finger means is in said inefiective position and being engageable with said finger means, when the latter is in said effective position, for rendering said detent menas actuatable by said detent release member.

2. Door control mechanism as defined in claim 1 wherein said one arm means is provided with opening means through which said finger means projects so as to extend into the path of swing-ing movement of said other arm means when the finger means is in said effective position.

3. Door control mechanism as defined in claim 1 wherein said first and second arm means are swingable about a common pivot axis and in substantially parallel planes; and wherein said one arm means is provided with opening means in which said finger means is confined for the transverse shifting movement thereof; said engagement between said finger means and said detent release member being with an edge portion of the arm means of the latter.

4. Door control mechanism as defined in claim 1 wherein said one arm means comprises spaced arm portions having substantially aligned openings therein; and wherein said finger means extends through said aligned openings.

5. Door control mechanism as defined in claim l wherein said one arm means comprises spaced arm portions having substantially aligned openings therein; and wherein said finger means comprise aligned finger portions extending in opposite directions on opposite sides of said stem means and projecting into said openings.

6. Door control mechanism as defined in claim 1 wherein the connection between said stern means and locking member comprise co-operating portions thereon providing for relative sliding between said stem means and locking member.

7. In door control mechanism; a support adapted for mounting on the door; latch means pivoted on said support and movable to and from a door-latched position; detent means cooperable with said latch means for releasably retaining the latter in said door-latched position and including a swingable first arm means; a detent release member pivoted on said support and including a swingable second arm means adjacent said first arm means; a locking member shiftably mounted on said support for movement to locking and releasing positions; a control member having a stern portion extending adjacent said locking member and finger means rigid with said stem portion; said finger means being continuously in cooperating relation to one of said arm means and extending transversely thereof; and means forming an actuating connection between said locking member and stem portion and providing for sliding of the latter relative to the locking member; said control member being shiftable by said locking member for movement of said finger means relative to said one arm means and to effective and inefiective control positions; said detent release member having an idle movement relative to said detent means and clear of the finger means when said finger means is in said ineiiective position and being engageable with said finger means, when the latter is in said effective position, for rendering said detent means actuatable by said detent release member.

8. Door control mechanism for use on a door having an edge wall; a support having a plate portion and a fiange portion and adapted for mounting on said door with said plate portion facing said edge wall; latch means pivotally supported by said plate portion and movable to and from a door-latched position; detent means pivoted on said plate portion and cooperable with said latch means for retaining the latter in said door-latched position and including a swingable first arm means; a detent release member pivoted on said plate portion and includ ing a swingable second arm means adjacent said first arms means; said first arm means and said second arm means being swingable in substantially parallel planes; a locking member pivoted on said flange portion for swinging to locking and releasing positions; and a movable control member having stem means connected with said locking member and finger means rigid with said stem means; said finger means being continuously in co-operating relation to one of said arm means and extending transversely of said one arm means; said control member being shiftable by said locking member for moving said finger means substantially in the transverse direction in which said finger means extends and to effective and ineffective control positions; said detent release member having an idle movement relative to said detent means and clear of the finger means when said finger means is in said ineffective position and being engageable with said finger means, when the latter is in said effective position, for renderng said detent means actuatable by said detent release member.

9. Door control mechanism as defined in claim 8 wherein said locking member has projection means thereon provided with an opening; and wherein said stem means is slidable in said opening.

10. In door control mechanism; a support adapted for mounting on the door; latch means pivoted on said sup port and movable to and from a door-latched position; detent means cooperable with said latch means for re leasably retaining the latter in said door-latched position and including a swingable first arm means; a detent release member pivoted on said support and including a swingable second arm means adjacent said first arm means; a locking member shiftably mounted on said support for movement to locking and releasing positions; one of said arm means comprising a pair of spaced arms; and a T-shaped control member comprising a stem portion extending from the space between said arms and connected with said locking member and a transverse bar portion rigid with the stem portion and spanning said space; said control member being shiftable by said locking member for moving said bar portion transversely of said arms to etfective and ineffective control positions;

said detent release member having an idle movement relative to said detent means when said bar portion is in 13 said ineffective position and the other of said arm means being engageable with said bar portion, when the latter is in said effective position, for rendering said detent means actuatable by said detent release member.

11. In door control mechanism; a support adapted for mounting on the door; latch means pivoted on said support and movable to and from a door-latched position; detent means cooperable with said latch means for releasably retaining the latter in said door-latched position and including a swingable first arm means; a detent release member pivoted on said support and including a swingable second arm means adjacent said first arm means; a locking member shiftably mounted on said support for movement to locking and releasing positions; one of said arm means comprising a pair of spaced arms having substantially aligned openings therein; and a T- shaped control member having a stem portion connected With said locking member and finger means rigid with said stem portion and comprising oppositely extending finger portions received in said openings; said control member being shiftable by said locking member for moving said finger means in said openings and to etiective and ineffective control positions; said detent release member having an idle movement relative to said detent means when said finger means is in said ineffective position and the other of said arm means being engageable with said finger means, when the latter is in said effective position, for rendering said detent means actuatable by said detent release member.

12. In door control mechanism; a support adapted for mounting on the door; latch means pivoted on said support and movable to and from a door-latched position; detent means cooperable with said latch means for releasably retaining the latter in said door-latched position and including a swingable first arm means; a detent release member pivoted on said support and including a swingable second arm means adjacent said first arm means; a locking member shiftably mounted on said support for movement to locking and releasing positions; one of said arm means comprising a pair of spaced arms; a T-shaped control member comprising a stem portion extending from the space between said arms and toward said locking member and a transverse bar portion rigid with the stem portion and spanning said space; and means forming an actuating connection between said locking member and stem portion and providing for sliding of the latter relative to the locking member; said control member being shiftable by said locking member for moving said bar portion transversely of said arms to effective and ineffective control positions; said detent release member having an idle movement relative to said detent means when said bar portion is in said ineffective position and the other of said arm means being engageable with said bar portion, when the latter is in said effective position, for rendering said detent means actuatable by said detent release member.

13. In door control mechanism; a support adapted for mounting on the door; latch means pivoted on said support and movable to and from a door-latched position; a detent member co-operable with said latch means for retaining the latter in said door-latched position and including a swingable arm means; a detent release member pivoted on said support and having an actuating portion adjacent said arm means; a locking member mounted on said support for shifting to locking and unlocking positions; and a control member connected between said locking member and said detent member and being shiftable relative to said arm means by said locking member for movement of the control member to effective and ineffective positions; said detent release member having an idle movement relative to said detent member when said control member is in said inetfective position and said actuating portion being engageable with said control member, when the latter is in said effective position, for rendering said detent member actuatable by said detent rei4 lease member; said locking member having blocking means co-operable with said arm means and movable to a blocking position relative to the latter by the shifting of said locking member to said locking position for preventing a release actuation of said detent member by the idle movement of said detent release member.

14. In door control mechanism; a support adapted for mounting on the door; latch means pivoted on said support and movable to and from a door-latched position; a detent member co-operable with said latch means for retaining the latter in said door-latched position and including a swingable arm means; a detent release member pivoted on said support and having an actuating portion adjacent said arm means; a locking member mounted on said support for shifting to locking and unlocking positions; and a control member having a stem portion connected with said locking member and finger means rigid with said stem portion and extending transversely of said arm means; said finger means being continuously in cooperating relation to said arm means; said control member being shiftable relative to said arm means by said locking member by shifting said finger means transversely of said arm means to effective and inelfective positions; said detent release member having an idle movement relative to said detent member and clear of the finger means when said finger means is in said ineffective position and being engageable with said finger means, when the latter is in said eflective position, for rendering said detent member actuatable by said detent release member.

15. In door control mechanism; a support adapted for mounting on the door; latch means pivoted on said support and movable to and from a door-latched position; detent means cooperable with said latch means for releasably retaining the latter in said door-latched position and including a swingable arm means; a detent release member pivoted on said support and including a swingable actuating portion adjacent said arm means; a looking member pivotally mounted on said support for swinging to locking and releasing positions; said arm means comprising a pair of spaced arms having aligned openings therein; and a control member comprising a stem I portion connected with said locking member and finger means rigid with said stem portion and received in said openings; said control member being shiftable by said locking member for movement of said finger means transversely of said arm means to effective and inefiective control positions; said detent release member having an idle movement relative to said detent means when said finger means is in said inetfective position and said actuating portion being engageable with said finger means, when the latter is in said effective position, for rendering said detent means actuatable by said detent release member.

16. In door control mechanism; a support adapted for mounting on the door; latch means pivoted on said support and movable to and from a door-latched position; detent means co-operable with said latch means for releasably retaining the latter in said door-latched position and including a swingable first arm means; a detent release member pivoted on said support and including a swingable second arm means adjacent said first arm means; a locking member shiftably mounted on said support for movement to locking and releasing positions; said second arm means comprising spaced arms having aligned openings therein; and a control. member comprising a stem portion connected with said locking member and finger means rigid with said portion and received in said openings; said control member being shiitable by said locking member for moving said finger means transversely of said second arm means to efiective and inneffective control positions; said detent release member having an idle movement relative to said detent means when said finger means is in said ineffective position and said first arm means being engageable with said finger means, when the latter is in said effective position, for rendering said detent means actuatable by said detent release member.

17. In door control mechanism; a support adapted for mounting on the door; latch means pivoted on said support and comprising a latch member movable to and from a door-latched position and a ratchet member connected with the latch member; a detent member pivoted on said support and co-operable with said ratchet member for retaining said latch member in its door-latched position and including a swingable first arm means; a detent release member pivoted on said support and including a swingable second arm means adjacent said first arm means; a locking member pivoted on said support for swinging to locking and releasing positions and including a thrust portion; said first arm means having an extension portion and said second arm means comprising spaced arm portions; and a control member having a stern portion connected with said locking member and finger means rigid with said stem means and extending in a transverse spanning relation across the space between said arm portions; said control member being shiftable by said locking member for moving said finger means transversely of said second arm means and to effective and ineffective positions; said detent release member having an idle movement relative to said detent member when said finger means is in said ineffective position and said first arm means being engageable with said finger means, when the latter is in said effective position, for rendering said detent member actuatable by said detent release member; said extension portion being engageable with said thrust portion for automatically swinging said locking member to its releasing position upon actuation of said detent member by said ratchet member in response to a forced pivotal movement of the ratchet member by said latch member.

18. In door control mechanism; a support adapted for mounting on the door; a latch member movable to and from a door-latched position by pivotal movement in latching and unlatching directions; a pivotally movable ratchet member; shaft means pivoted on said support and connecting said latch member and ratchet member; a detent member pivoted on said support and comprising a bell crank lever having holding arm means oo-operable with said ratchet member for retaining said latch member in said door-latched position and swingabie control arm means; a detent actuating lever pivoted on said support and comprising a bell crank lever having thrust means effective on said holding arm means for moving the latter into holding engagement with said ratchet member, and actuator arm means co-operable with said control arm means for swinging said detent member in a direction to cause said holding arm means to release said ratchet member; and a single spring means biasing said latch member, said detent member and said detent actuating lever in the same rotative direction.

19. In door control mechanism; a support adapted for mounting on the door; a latch member movable to and from a door-latched position by pivotal movement in latching and unlatching directions; a pivotal-1y movable ratchet member; shaft means pivoted on said support and connecting said latch member and ratchet member; means fixed on said shaft means and providing an eccentric anchor means swingable with the shaft means; a detent member pivoted on said support and comprising a bell crank lever having holding arm means co-operable with said ratchet member for retaining said latch member in said door-latched position and swingable control arm means; a detent actuating lever pivoted on said support and comprising a bell crank lever having thrust arm means effective on said holding arm means for moving the latter into holding engagement with said ratchet member, and actuator arm means co-operable with said control arm means for swinging said detent member in a direction to cause said holding arm means to release said ratchet member; and a single spring means biasing said latch member, said detent member and said detent actuating lever in the same rotative direction and comprising a tension spring connected between said anchor means and said thrust arm means; the bias action of said tension spring on said thrust arm means being in a direction to cause said holding engagement of said holding arm means with said ratchet member, and the bias action on said latch member being in a direction to assist the unlatching movement thereof.

20. In door control mechanism; a support adapted for mounting on the door; latch means pivoted on said support and movable to a door-latched position; manually operable lever means pivoted on said support and cooperable with said latch means for releasably holding the latter in said door-latched position and including swingable control arm means; a locking lever pivoted on said support for swinging actuation thereof to locking and releasing positions and (to-operable with said control arm means for preventing latcheleasing actuation of said lever means when said locking lever is in said locking position; manually operable means effective on said locking lever for swinging the same toward said locking and releasing positions; a spring of the over-center snap-action type having an anchorage portion and a movable actuating portion connected respectively with said support and locking lever for controlling the swinging movement of the latter; and connection means on said support providing two location points for the connection of the anchorage portion of said spring therewith and which location points lie on opposite sides of a median line extending through the pivot axis of said lockinglever; the connection of said anchorage portion of the spring with said support being selectively adjustable by manual shifting from one to the other of said location points; said spring being subject to loading by the swinging actuation of said locking lever toward said locking position and being also responsive to the connection thereof at one of said points with said support for urging said locking lever toward said locking position and responsive to the connection thereof at the other of said points with said support for urging said locking lever toward said unlocking position; said connection means for connecting said spring with said support comprising a C-shaped opening in the latter and whose end portions form said location points and are disposed on opposite sides of said median line.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,480,688 Allen Aug. 30, 1949 2,658,781 Allen Nov. 10, 1953 2,658,782 Allen Nov. 10, 1953 2,665,159 Allen Jan. 5, 1954 2,716,568 Davies Aug. 30, 1955 

